New Titans coach Ken Whisenhunt / Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports

By Steve Schrader

Detroit Free Press Sports Writer

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So why did former Arizona coach Ken Whisenhunt go to the Tennessee Titans instead of the Detroit Lions, which the experts said was the best job out there?

Michael Wilbon had a theory on ESPN’s “Pardon the Interruption.”

“The Lions are sort of like the Cardinals, and he’d already been there and done that with the Cardinals,” Wilbon said Tuesday. “He probably looked at it and said, ‘Oh, my God, not this again.’ ”

He’s right, the two franchises were very much alike, especially before Whisenhunt took the Cardinals to the Super Bowl in 2008. At the time, the Lions and Cardinals were the only two teams that had missed every Super Bowl ever played. Now it’s just the Lions with that distinction.

Thinking Whisenhunt could end the Lions’ streak, too — which is now 0-for-48 — might have been too much to ask of one man.

Quick tweets

■ SportsPickle.com: “The Lions announcement will work so well because they can say: ‘Introducing our Plan J ... im Caldwell!’ ”

Quick hits

■ President Barack Obama, welcoming LeBron James and the NBA-champion Miami Heat to the White House: “This group has now won twice and gone to the finals three times but, sometimes, it feels like they’re still fighting for respect. I can relate to that.”

They presented him with a “POTUS 44” jersey.

■ Headline at theonion.com: “Bulls assure fans Derrick Rose will be part of team’s payroll for years to come.”